Senior Living Organizations to Congress: Don’t ‘Rob’ Facilities of PRF

As uncertainty grows over what will remain in the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) for senior care, letters have been pouring in from senior living organizations demanding that the money stays with long-term care facilities.

Argentum President and CEO James Balda called efforts to “rob seniors to pay for sewer pipes” irresponsible and outrageous, in a statement released Friday.

He and other leaders with the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NACL), American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA) and LeadingAge sent a letter to several members of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives demanding that the money stay put.

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They called it “short-sided” to take away relief dollars from long-term services and support.

Released at the end of June, the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework invests two-thirds of the resources that President Biden proposed in his American Jobs Plan.

A growing concern is that unspent COVID-19 provider relief funds will be among the potential offsets included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework.

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The long-term care sector has received approximately $14 billion of the $178 billion in the fund, established by the CARES Act.

In its letter to the Hill, the groups asked that the funds be used for the purpose they were originally intended.

“As Congress continues to consider the needs for investment in our nation’s infrastructure, we urge you to ensure that the remaining critically necessary relief in the Provider Relief Fund (PRF) are not repurposed for infrastructure,” the letter stated.

It went on to say that the funds should be used to help offset some of the losses due to personal protection equipment (PPE), staffing needs, overtime and incentive pay and record-low occupancy rates that long-term care facilities have experienced over the course of the pandemic.

The American Hospital Association chimed in as well, expressing strong opposition to proposals to rescind emergency funding from the PRF.

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